Sean McDonough says 4 Nations Face-Off ‘right there with anything I have called’

ESPN’s Sean McDonough has called some of the biggest events in sports – the World Series, the Olympics, the Masters, the College Football Playoff, Monday Night Football, March Madness, the list goes on and on.

But for the veteran play-by-play announcer, last month’s 4 Nations Face-Off was as good as it gets.

Team Canada beat Team USA in a dramatic overtime finish thanks to a game-winning goal from the best player on the planet, Connor McDavid. It was a heartbreaking finish for Team USA and a jubliant moment for Canada that was reminiscent of Sidney Crosby’s sudden death goal to win the gold medal in Vancouver at the 2010 Winter Olympics. And the fact that it came alongside a backdrop of unprecedented, tense political relations between the two countries only amplified the moment even further.

In an interview with The Athletic, Sean McDonough said that the game, and McDavid’s goal, was among the greatest sporting events that they had ever called.

It’s right there with anything I have called.

It was a remarkable tournament from start to finish, and particularly the championship game. As an American, most of the people that I talked to said, “Wow, that was great, I just wish the result was different.”

The game was tremendous and even more special for me because it was in Boston. The morning of the game, I was sitting there in the TD Garden “Will McDonough Press Room,” named after my Dad.

For his part, Canadian counterpart Chris Cuthbert compared it to the Crosby goal, saying the fact that it was in the same conversation as that iconic Crosby moment was a surprise to him.

I’m always asked where the Sidney Crosby goal call (to win the men’s hockey tournament at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver) ranks in my career. My answer has always been if there’s something else that comes along that can be close, I’m all for it. I’ve answered that thinking that’s not going to happen.

I won’t say Connor McDavid’s (game-winning) goal was as big as the Crosby goal, but in the moment, it was in the conversation and that surprised me.

It resonated louder than I ever expected it might. … For a whole generation, the Crosby goal was their moment, and I think in some ways for anybody that’s 25- or 30-years-old and under, the goal by McDavid was another semi-generations moment.

Both announcers said that they were satisfied with their calls for the McDavid goal, and Sean McDonough even had a message for people who don’t think his hockey announcing is up to par with his other work, saying “For people who don’t think I’m a good hockey announcer, I would say please watch that and if you still feel that way, explain to me why.”

But even with a few weeks of hindsight, the memories of the 4 Nations Face-Off still endure as one of the surprisingly great sporting events we’ve ever seen. For it to resonate that deeply with the men who called it, who have done pretty much every major sporting event under the sun, says a great deal. And it clearly also resonated with fans across the continent, as a combined 16.1 million viewers in the United States and Canada watched on the edge of their seats.